Green IndonesiaA friend of mine has just started teaching a university course entitled Consumer Behaviourism.
Shopping?? I ejaculated.
You're teaching a bunch of rich kids about shopping?? Ah, she replied,
but now they'll know why.Work, buy, consume, die, I say.
But what if there's reincarnation? she suggested.
Everlasting shopping? Hell on Earth, I cry.
Everywhere you turn in Indonesia there is evidence that society in general has lost touch with its roots. The pursuit of temporal wealth by the rich coupled with the pursuit of a living wage by the poor has devastated our environment. There is little recognition that our very survival depends on mutual and communal action.
The needs of the community at large are rarely, if ever, addressed. These have nothing to do with sectarian interests, be they along religious or political fault lines because myopic greed recognises no demarcation.
Cities lack parks, those essential green lungs for our physical well-being whilst their replacements, air-conditioned malls, contribute to global warming, increased flooding, traffic woes and mental malaise. And there is no co-ordinated public transport system, at any level.
The devastation of forests along the shores and in the hinterlands has resulted in increased slaughter from the elements. Mangroves no longer impede erosion or tsunamis and tropical forests no longer provide clean water or safe havens for protected species. Landslips and floods kill hundreds every year.
The plundering of irreplaceable natural resources puts communities at risk - think Freeport and Sidoarjo.
As Jakartass, I've commented on various issues, given links where appropriate and offered moral support. Other bloggers, such as Indcoup, Greenstump and Yosef Ardi, have occasionally touched on environmental issues. We all have a personal perspective on life here so it is rare that we've found an issue we can simultaneously blog. There is only so much an individual can do.
In my researches of various posts about the environment in Indonesia I have come to realise that there is a wealth of information, skills and wisdom on tap, but these taps need to be turned on.
Discussions with a number of online colleagues have shown that there is scope for collective consciousness raising. As regular contributors to hyperspace, aware of its power to network, we have registered
GreenIndonesia.net. This is intended to be a wiki-type blog, albeit with a WordPress template.
There are a number of issues which need to be addressed, such as:
Transport
Recycling
Fair Trade
Food Issues
Urbanisation
Eco Tourism
Nuclear Power
Marine ecology
Rain Forest Action
Parks and Playspaces .....
No one person or organisation can address all of these issues. For that reason, we invite interested individuals and organisations to co-ordinate and edit sections of this blog.
Posts could focus on issues, news, individuals or whatever seems to be relevant and, hopefully, optimistic. It is our hope that in publishing the collective writings focussed on what we believe constitute a sane future for Indonesia, we may be able to encourage society to actually work towards that future.
Will you join us?
Please?
Jakartass
and
Rambler(MONDAY: There are a couple of teething problems involving Firefox and Wordpress compatibility. Please bear with us as we try to resolve them. In fact, and to our displeasure, we recommend I.E. for viewing the site. Meantimes, please keep those emails flooding in.)
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